


Prince Of Gehenna

by hyyugaa



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Demon Rin, Gen, Kurikara Breaks, Original Character(s), Yukio is going through it but in a good way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:07:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29717634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyyugaa/pseuds/hyyugaa
Summary: During his heated battle against Amaimon, his precious sword, Kurikara, shatters into a million pieces. With his demon heart no longer safely sealed in Gehenna, it returns to him.What will happen to the world as Rin reclaims his rightful place as the Prince of Gehenna?
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Okumura Rin/Okumura Yukio
Kudos: 6





	Prince Of Gehenna

**Author's Note:**

> This story contains major manga spoilers, so beware if you're an anime-only!  
> Note that everything is canon until chapter 14.

Mephisto straightened from his comfortable recline as the fight between his two brothers, Amaimon and Rin Okumura, reached its climax.

Blue flames emanating from the youngest sibling, spread through the summer's foliage like an epidemic, quickly infecting everything it could, only leaving glowing ashes in its wake. Twilight was rapidly approaching, though, it should have been dark, and yet the teen's power lit up the sky in a glow that could easily outshine the morning's azure.

In mid-air, Rin impaled his sword on the back of the green-haired demon with all his strength, forcing a momentum that should've plummeted both of Satan's offspring down at the mercy of gravity; nevertheless, the siblings maintained their position in the air, challenging the fundamental laws of physics, a work that none other than the demon King of Time could do.

He really did have the best seat in the house, Mephisto thought as the flames around his two younger brothers heightened to levels that finally met his expectations. A sly smile slithered his lips.

"Burn." The youngest of the two sneered between his teeth when the flames crescendoed into a blue sun. Lord Pheles had to nudge his seat backwards to avoid the blow. The brilliance was short-lived. Too soon, Amaimon's nifty fingers found the length of Rin's tail and wrenched it with all his might, earning a pained scream from the victim above him.

Mephisto lightly chuckled while shaking his head. "A demon's tail is one of their weakest points..." He crossed one leg over the other and folded his hands over them. "A proper 'gentle-demon' would know how to keep it hidden.

"He'd do well to remember this," The elder demon continued his monologue. "There are still many things you need to learn about yourself," He sighed, lacing his fingers together. "Starting with what you desire..."

Mephisto couldn't care less about the other exorcists— they were being loud, but he blocked them out, for the most part— he was just glad that they weren't in the way. Yes, that would have indeed ruined his show.

"...Demons are always opposing those that seek happiness. Being placed amidst humans, it's only natural problems will arise." His soliloquy continued as he settled back on the backrest. "So, I wonder which path he'll head towards?"

Rin was an animal; incoherently growling while savagely lunging himself toward his target. A fire as bright as the last, erupted as the teen seized the green-haired demon and pushed him down with the weight of his flames. _It's time to end this, isn't it?_ Mephisto inwardly sighed in disappointment. He was having too much fun, watching the potential of his littlest brother bloom into something more. The worst of it was that he was really impressed with Rin's performance, that was certainly unexpected; but it's because of his stellar display that he couldn't allow for this brawl to continue. Amimon's body probably couldn't take any more damage and he wasn't in a position to grant him a new vessel.

With a final outward sigh, the plush armchair disappeared from underneath him, and Mephisto begrudgingly soared through the air to stop his junior siblings. In an instant, his hands were around the arms of his two brothers.

"Alright, this has gone on long enough." He asserted. The two demons looked like their eyes were on the brink of falling off their sockets. Mephisto hated to force a truce, he would've loved for the fight to have reached a satisfying resolution, despite this, he had to be mature. "At this rate, my school will be reduced to rubble!"

His grip tightened when Rin tried to wiggle out of his clutch. "This is the end of today's game. Dawn has broken..." He mused as the two demons writhed in his grasp. "Now then, it's time for the two of you to head home."

"Older brother!" Amaimon protested from underneath, "Didn't you promise that if I followed your instructions, you'd let me play as much as I liked this time?"

"I did warn you already not to break the school," Mephisto looked down at the green-haired demon. The skin on his face was missing in patches, leaving blotches of angry red flesh poking through. He smelt distinctly of soot and seared muscle, to which he had to scrunch his nose in disgust. "Besides, haven't you understood yet? This younger brother of ours... There's an overwhelming difference in your abilit—"

Suddenly the grip of his left hand was forced open. The devastating momentum was enough to propel both demon kings in the opposite direction. The force that aided Rin's escape was easily strong enough to shift Mephisto's centre of gravity as he floated in the air. Now upside down, the King of Time watched as his wild youngest sibling roared while drawing his sword.

"I haven't lost yet!"

He smirked at Rin's antics, "That naughty brother of mine." _He's definitely more impressive than I anticipated._ Mephisto laughed, and hard. Lord, was Rin amusing. Out of nowhere, he pulled out an umbrella ridden with colourful patches.

"Eins, zwei, drei!" Mephisto sang, "Kuchen, cuckoo house!!"

In an instant, a large cuckoo house made of what seemed like sweets— candy canes, gingerbread, chocolate and more— materialized in the air. The bird with a top hat that emerged from the sugary edifice, took hold of Amaimon in its beak and dragged him home with it.

"Older broooooother!" The Earth King whined as he disappeared behind the wafer doors.

"Abra Cadabra." Mephisto recited, which caused the house to disappear behind a lilac cloud.

Rin, on the other side of the makeshift clearing, was a feral mess; growling, and barking as foamy dribble trickled from the side of his lips. His eyes, shadowed by the flaming horns above them, resembled one of a hungry predator, and with his knife-like teeth grinding against each other, and his elongated ears twitching in anticipation, he might as well have been one.

"Now, let's see..." Mephisto clicked his tongue with a smile playing on his lips as he observed the teen, man was he a handful, he thought. Shaking his head, he decided that it was time to mark a stop to all this. "Oh my, shall we go, Okumura-kun?"

The boy just roared in response. In a second, he lurched toward the purple smoke that still hung heavy in the air and swung his blazing blue sword at the mist. Only at that moment could Mephisto detect the damage sustained by Kurikara. _This could be tro_ ublesome... The ocean fire ate away the pastel gas eagerly, in the clarity, the confectionary building appeared once more. Rin sliced through it as if it had been made of cake— well it had been, but it should've withstood a lot more than it did, Mephisto noted. This guy...

At once, a stupefied Amaimon surfaced from the ashened house. "Wha—"

"IT'S NOT OVER YET!" The feral teen screamed, running toward the green-haired demon.

"He's being completely consumed by his flames." Mephisto had feared this. "Good grief! What troublesome younger brothers."

" **That is enough!** " Mephisto bellowed in a voice his father would be proud of. With a deadly grip, he took a hold of his two younger brothers and finally put a stop to the madness.

Yukio managed to get his class to safety. They were on the outskirts of the forest, walking toward a large tower with a single door. He thought of Rin while leading his students away from the commotion, _why would he do this..._

"Yu—Yuki-chan?" A shirl voice tickled his ear. "I'm fine now! Let me down!"

Shiemi didn't have to twist his arm for him to comply, at once he kneeled to ease her off his back. "You're okay?"

"Yeah!" The girl grinned reassuringly, "Thanks for that!"

With his class safe and sound, Yukio could finally attend to more important matters, "Shura-san, did you get rid of me because you knew things would turn out like that?" Anger bubbled at the pit of his stomach. Had only he been there earlier... "Didn't you say you wanted to see how Ani uses his sword?!" Accusations were thrown toward his partner. That Shura, always doing things without thinking, always getting on his damn nerves. "IS THAT THE WHOLE STORY?"

"Meh, don't be upset, yer scaredy-cat four-eyes." The redhead brushed him off with a lazy wave. His fists balled at the audacity; she didn't even have the courtesy to turn around and face him, so he was left there, staring at her back.

"Um..." The shrill voice interrupted from behind, Shiemi. "What's going on with Rin? Please explain it to us!"

Explain? How was he supposed to explain that? Yukio didn't even have enough energy left in him to release a bitter chuckle. Ultimately, he sighed, this moment was a long time coming; it was obvious that Rin would've slipped up in one way or another, still, a little part of him wanted to have faith in his elder brother, which proved to be in vain. "Ani's—"

"No matter how you look at it, isn't it just like _that_ night?" A grand and proud voice interjected from afar. Yukio swivelled his gaze until it landed on a blond figure overlooking the situation from the roof of the tower. He was dressed in a double-breasted white coat that spanned the length of his body to his ankles; his garments were intricate, expensive and almost angelic... _No._

The man shouted a myriad of instructions to the henchmen below him who complied without a single word.

"Who's that" One of the exwires astonished at the sight of the man.

Yukio didn't need an introduction, but the blond gave it anyway. "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen! I am Arthur Auguste Angel— an upper first class exorcist of the Vatican branch!"

 _And the freaking Paladin,_ things couldn't get worse, could they? The highest-ranking member of the order was there, witnessing the blue flames as his brother spiralled out of control. The secret was out, there was nothing beyond this except certain death. Rin was going to die.

A deep exhausted sigh escaped his lips. The Paladin and Shura engaged in a quippy back and forth that Yukio didn't bother registering, he was more worried about his brother. With the Vatican finding out about his existence, there was nothing else he could do. _I'm sorry father..._ He failed to keep Rin safe and now he was surely going to be executed at the hands of the order.

A large puff of smoke materialized atop the golden lilac skies tinted turquoise with hellflame. From there, Lord Pheles emerged with the green-haired demon and Rin who didn't really look like Rin. Instead, he looked like a wild animal as he growled and screamed incoherently while his whole body jerked and shaked in the Principal's grasp.

"Nii-san..." Yukio breathed.

"Allow me to express my pleasure at you receiving the meister in 'Paladin'" Pheles congratulated with manufactured courtesy. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Angel?"

The blonde man refused to acknowledge Lord Pheles, alternatively, he slowly exhaled, focusing his attention toward Shura without taking his eyes off Rin. "If you were able to judge that it was related to Satan," He faltered, narrowing his cerulean glare further. " **Immediate** elimination was permitted.

"Shura, this beast is spouting blue flames... doesn't it strike you that it's related to Satan?" Arthur ruminated with a raised brow.

Before anyone could say anything, the smouldering blue flames exuding from his twin upsurged to a disastrous apex. Everyone was pushed backwards, even Lord Pheles along with the demon in his other hand. Rin was left there heaving loudly with a ring of teal fire shielding him from the outside. As he gripped his sword offensively, Yukio could see the many cracks decorated along the blade of Kurikara. _That can't be good..._

"Nii-san, just stop!" Yukio called out but Rin wasn't listening. The animalistic boy growled and howled at anyone with a pulse, he was too far gone.

"Caliburn, give me strength..." Arthur whispered upon his sword.

The demon blade was more than happy to obey with its usual peppy and affectionate voice. "Kyaaa, I'll give to you Arthur!"

After that, he was gone. Like lightning, he moved through the space, undetectable to the naked eye, and before he knew it, his blade clashed with another, blue sparks flying at contact.

"Oh... I see Caliburn's power is unable to get past your reflexes, isn't that right, Satan's spawn?" Arthur wondered aloud. "That's alright, the harder the prey, the more satisfying the kill," He teased before disappearing once more.

From the outside, the fight happening between the Paladin and Satan's son was ineligible, to say the least. One second Arthur would be there in all his glory swaying his large cleaver-like sword at the glowing blue teen, and the next, he'd be gone. He'd simply disappear leaving no trace of previous existence, and yet, Rin managed to sniff out and catch the higher-ranked exorcist with his superhuman speed. All the exwires could see were sparks the shade of hell soaring through the air like fireworks at the end of a festival.

"Is that really Rin?" Konekomaru meekly held his broken arm as he marvelled at the display occurring before his eyes.

"That bastard," Suguro seethed at his former friend. He didn't understand how such an abomination had been allowed to roam right underneath their noses all that time.

Kamiki didn't make a noise. The sorn etched on her face was enough to convey all she felt at that moment.

Renzou's mouth hung open while his pink brows raised to allow as much of the fight to register in his eyes as possible. That was something he was not expecting, nevertheless, excitement bubbled at the bottom of his gut.

Shiemi couldn't do anything but whimper from fear. Fear of the newly found demon boy and fear of what could happen to said demon.

Yukio was on the verge of collapsing. Rin was out of control and he was going to die. He had to grip the railing to stop his knees from buckling; with rapid breaths that clouded his glasses, he stabilized himself. Despite his need for his older brother to give in and stop the jarring display, a part of him truly didn't want him to stop. If he didn't, perhaps Rin could live.

At last, the two opponents returned to the bridge-like walkway engaged in a heated conflict.

"Aren't you going to do anything?" Yukio snapped at Lord Pheles.

"What can I do?" The clown pondered lightly. "This is between the Paladin and Rin. It's out of my jurisdiction."

Yukio knew it was bullshit and that the King of Time could accelerate a resolution to his bidding, but he didn't want to. He was enjoying the spectacle, Rin's instability and his embarrassment— Yukio's embarrassment— were entertaining to him. His grip on the wood tightened.

The force Rin exuded on the Paladin was clearly overwhelming him. The teen was above the blonde commander, pushing him further down with the momentum of his sword. Where the two demon blades met, there was light, the demon boy pushed harder and harder on Arthur, screaming like a hungry lion as he did so.

"AGHHHHH!" Rin forced on the Paladin.

And then, the world stopped.

As it had been made out of glass, the blade of Kurikara shattered into a million pieces.

Mephisto frowned. "I was afraid of this..."

"Wha—what happened?" A short, blonde exwire worried.

Rin was on his knees, bent over himself and breathing hard. Arthur was stunned, to say the least, but recovered fast. Once he found his footing again, he cleared his throat.

"I, Arthur Aguste Angel, hereby sentence you to death; devil." He lifted Caliburn high. then descended it upon Rin's neck.

"I would move out of the way if I were you." Mephisto quipped in, essentially interrupting the execution.

Arthur sighed anon glared at the Time King. "I do not have time for your trickish riddles, Mephisto. This monster must die." The Paladin attempted to end it once and for all, however this time he was interrupted by a surge of blue flames erupting from the young demon.

Mephisto watched as Arthur disappeared and reappeared a few metres back. _Told you so._ Then he focused back on Rin. In the midst of the brilliant blue blaze, the body of a young man writhed and squirmed in pain. He was burning, his own flames attacked his skin, leaving charred ebony stretches along the entirety of his body.

"His body... It's necrotic!" Konekomaru gasped.

Rin's wails of agony spread through the atmosphere like his fire once did. It sounded like a heart-wrenching mixture between a tortured animal and an anguished child mewling for their lives at the top of their voice.

"NII-SAN! NII-SAN!" Yukio cried. Mephisto looped his fingers around the younger twin's wrist to stop him from advancing any further.

"Don't be stupid. There's nothing you can do to help him." He berated the young teacher. "You'll die."

Rin's laments could still be clearly heard in the foreground, they were incomprehensible, much like the pain he was experiencing. The exwires watched their classmate in horror, none of them knew what was happening. Rin was on fire, just like he'd been for much of that night, but this time he was being consumed by the hellish flames as well. None of them dared to say or do anything.

"Get back, children!" The school's principal urged the exorcists-in-training. "That includes you too, Shura."

The red-haired brash lady rolled her eyes as she complied with her boss' order. She had an unidentifiable look carved on her face while she watched her student inch toward death. "What's happening to him?"

"It appears that Big Brother sealed Rin Okumura's demon heart in Gehenna." The green-haired demon chimed in. "When the catalyst for the seal broke, the subdued heart fully returned to Rin's body!"

There was a collective gasp among the exorcists. Shura had to shake her head; clearly, she wasn't understanding this fully. _Demon heart?_

It was Mephisto's turn to speak. "For a thing of Gehenna to continually manifest in Assiah requires a vessel that's strong enough." He let go of Yukio so his hand would be free to stroke his purple goatee. "I wonder if Rin's body can withstand the perfect flame..."

"And what happens if he can't?!" Yukio interjected with panic evident in his face.

"I suppose he'll die."

Yukio straightened his expression after that. Death, of course. If there was something certain about this entire ordeal was that his twin was not going to make it. He released a shaky exhale. _Don't dwell on it too much. He brought it upon himself..._

Amaimon plopped down on the floor cross-legged. "Let's see if he's a sufficient vessel for father..." He said as he stretched his arms behind his head. Some of the ghastly injuries sustained by the demon had already healed but he didn't really seem bothered by the remaining damage to his body. "That was my original intention, but..."

The prisoner confined within the walls of fire cried for his life as the azure penitentiary intensified to a white glare; the spectators had to shield their gaze from the brilliance, but that alone wasn't enough to protect them from the incoming feverish blast. On the other hand, Mephisto's spell was; with a simple incantation, he summoned a translucent screen brimming with sparkles and packed with assorted stickers the size of a head that sheltered the young exorcists from the blow. Arthur, who was on the other side of the bonfire was not afforded that same grace. Instead, he utilized his wide blade to cut through the heat, diverging its flow away from him.

The agony flowing through the scene climbed higher and higher into an ear-piercing wail.

Zenith.

After that, it went quiet. It was so sudden that, for a moment, they couldn't even register the panicked chirping of the morning birds that filled the auditory vacuum. As if the silence were a fire extinguisher, the flames surrounding the blackened silhouette smothered down to a slow indigo smoulder.

The sight was dreadful; Rin, who was merely a charred version of himself, was on his knees with his head tilted back as far as it could and his arms useless at the side of his body. His mouth was wide open, revealing worn teeth and an ashened tongue; his obsidian flesh was cracking in places and there was the distinct scent of burnt tissue radiating from the corpse which was worse than the eye-watering stunk from the flaming forest.

"Was that all he had?" Amaimon mumbled through his demon claw, which he was gnawing in anticipation. "How boring."

There was a collective harmonious reticence amongst the exorcists. Hands flew to cup agape lips while eyes rolled out their lids in wonderment. They struggled to register and comprehend what had transpired; after all that happened, Rin was dead...

"T—that can't be it, can it?" Shura whispered into the silence as the shell of a body crumbled into chunks.

The first to approach Rin's carcass was the Paladin. With his sword, he cautiously nudged the carbonized debris. "Huh, that was certainly something..." When he was done examining the remains, he turned to the Academy exorcists. "The Nephilim extinguished himself by the power of his own hellish flames... I would've liked to eliminate him myself, but in the end, a lurid blemish has been cleared from our esteemed order.

"As my brother used to say, all's well that ends well. But let this be a lesson to you all, insolence against the True Cross Order will not be tolerated. Mephisto, Sura, and you with the moles and glasses will need to come with me to the Vatican for a disciplinary hearing; it disappoints me that such audacious treachery was going on for so long, harbouring Satan's spawn— and with the help of the former Paladin no less! It's mortifying, really. I cannot believe that—"

Lost in his harangue, Arthur failed to notice the figure emerging from the glowing cinders in his rear. Mephisto smiled. He knew his littlest brother would never disappoint him like that, he had so much untapped potential, it would've been a shame if it all ended here. _Like a phoenix, he rises from the ashes._

Despite Arthur's initial distraction, his apt senses more than made up for the respite. The next second, Caliburn was drawn and his back faced the young exwires.

Rin looked different. Perhaps the most discordant change to his appearance was his snowy white hair in place of his former ebony locks; he no longer looked like the personification of rabies, instead, there was a blank almost serene expression on his face. He was naked, only clothed in the blue flames exuding from his body; though he was on fire, the flames no longer harmed him, in fact, the flames seemed to invigorate his slight emaciated frame.

"What the—"

Bewilderment was a way to start the long list of emotions Yukio was feeling at the moment. Rin didn't die. His brother was still alive, and he wasn't sure what to think about it. "Nii-san!"

"He's hot," Shiemi added meekly.

"Wha— what do you mean?"

"He's not warm anymore..." The blonde exwire who had been observing the nature of Rin's fire throughout the entire ordeal, clarified slowly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Suguro huffed.

"That's Rin... but that's not Rin!"

A gust of hot light launched from the demon boy. Behind the screen Mephisto erected earlier, the exwires were safe; aside from arduous blindness brought upon by the white fire, they got out unscratched. Arthur wasn't so lucky. Like before, he used his demon blade to part the flow of fire like Moses and the Red sea, but this time the blast was overwhelming; his strength was barely enough to keep the hellish heat from his face, Caliburn shook and trembled from the pressure, and when the intensity began to die out, he noticed a ghastly portion of the blade had melted off.

"Caliburn!"

"Ha, ha ha! It's happening!" Amaimon whooped gleefully.

On the other side of the screen, within the wall of fire, Rin was doing the same thing.

"Ha ha, this is awesome!" He cackled. The fire surrounding him felt good. He felt good. It was surreal, how much power he had access to right now, "My flame is going wild!"

"AND IT FEELS GREAT!"

Rin stared at his hands in amazement. On a whim, he decided to test out his new powers; from his glowing heart, a surge of delicious energy flowed to his fingertips, igniting all ten of them in a cobalt flare. From there he used his conscience to carve the miniature flames into long claw-like slits. "Yeah!!" He cheered at his feat. "Before it was nothing!" Rin chortled loudly. "I've never felt so good!"

"Stop right there, demon!" With a deformed blade drawn, Arthur commanded the young Nephilim.

The ecstatic smile that took Rin's lips quickly morphed into scorn. He slowly turned toward the Paladin, shameless as every part of him was in full unobstructed display. "I've about had it with you." He sneered, "You piss me off!"

Just as he tried before, Rin formed a claw of fire in his grasp and without any inhibitions, he lurched the flaming projectiles toward the blonde exorcist who barely managed to avoid them, but somehow he did, letting the missiles crash against the glittery barrier.

"Caliburn, give me your strength!"

The blade coughed and wheezed. "Of course A—Arthur."

He disappeared. Rin whirled his gaze around, estimating where he would reappear, but surely enough, Arthur only managed to shift a couple of metres from his original position.

"I'm really sorry, Arthur. I—I'm at my limit." The sword wearily shivered on the Paladin's grasp.

Rin let out a deep rumble that resonated from his stomach. It then escalated to manic laugher, sinister enough to send cool chills down Arthur's veins. "Without that demon sword of yours, you're nothing more than an average human, aren't you?" The demon jeered.

Like lightning, Rin closed in the space between him and Arthur. "That's a shame... What was that you said?" Satan's son clutched at the Paladin's neck, "Oh right! ' _The harder the prey, the more satisfying the kill.'"_ Without further thought, Rin delivered a rush of fire that engulfed both of their bodies; unlike the demon, Arthur did not possess a superhuman resistance to the hellflame. The hostile ocean flames licked and nipped at the man's skin, drawing blood but quickly cauterizing it with their towering inferno. "That wasn't satisfying at all."

Oh the safe side of the screen, the exorcists watched in horror while the demons enjoyed the show. When the flames surrounding the two subjects died, only one emerged. In the place of the other, there was a small heap of ashes that steadily diminished in mass to the beat of the morning wind.

"That... can't be." One of the exwires said.

"Rin... Rin killed the Paladin."

"NII-SAN! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

"Yukio!" Rin smiled as he walked closer to the screen. "How do you like me now? You've always told me to hide my flame, to hide who I am." He pressed his hand against the shimmery barrier and leaned in. "But now I'm free; and it feels fucking amazing!" The palm that rested against the translucent shield began to glow with his signature blue. Rin's muscle strained as he pressed harder against the magic, trying to break through.

"That's not going to work, my dear brother." Mephisto notified offhandedly.

"Is that so, Samael?" Rin channelled his fire into his favourite claws and focused the burn into Mephisto's spell. It was small, but it was something, the area around Rin's clutch, melted into a glimmery sludge. For the first time that morning, there was an expression other than light amusement in Lord Peles' face.

"You insolent child." Mephisto scoffed under his breath.

Rin cackled, in the ominous and menacing way he'd recently adopted. "Was this not what you wanted?" He cocked his head sideways. "That's why you sent Amaimon my way, right? To make me realize my full potential." The older demon didn't budge. "Well thank you for that. I really appreciate it." Rin flashed his silvery fangs in gratitude.

"You're not Rin!" The blonde exwire cried.

Rin's head cocked the other way. "Oh but I am, Shiemi. Who you knew before was merely an illusion created by my former guardian; this is the real me!"

"Nii-san, come back to yourself and give up. Please." Yukio had his gun locked and loaded with his most potent demon-killing bullets.

"Aw, are you gonna shoot me with a vitamin shell again?" Goaded Rin with a mocking pout.

Bang.

"Oh..." Rin looked down at his chest. Just millimetres from where his demon heart glowed proudly, there was a small hole dripping red with blood. Yukio had shot through the small opening created by the very victim of the blow. "If you think that something like that could—"

Bang.

"STOP THAT!" Rin's flames flared up once.

Yukio didn't cease fire. The young Dragoon fired bullet after bullet until his case was empty, then, with a swift movement, it was refilled. "You stop that, Nii-san! If you really _are_ my big brother..."Yukio shot once more. "Who _are_ you?"

Bang.

It was dark. _Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?_ Rin sat in the darkness contemplating that question, "Who am I?"

He gasped. Swivelling his haze around to take in his surroundings, he wondered where he was. It was dark, really dark; were his eyes open? They were, but he still couldn't see anything.

"Where are you?" That was Yukio's voice, was he around? It sounded so distant...

"Are you talking to me?" Rin grogged. "I... I don't know where I am..."

In his peripheral, a light appeared. Rin perked up at the change. If he just followed the light... It was him, but it also wasn't. Rin didn't have white hair, and that thing looked more like a demon than a human, but otherwise, it was Rin.

"Who... are you?"

"Me?" The white-haired version of him smiled. "I think you know."

"I—"

"Did you think you had faced and overcome me?" His laugh was disgusting; evil and almost animalistic, but not quite. That laugh was boorish but controlled. Deliberate and calculated. "NOT A CHANCE! You merely suppressed me!"

Rin gasped.

"I am you! You have been holding down your very self!" The demon declared loudly. Flames emanating from the man erupted in a powerful wave.

"And now, it's finally my turn to shine! So get lost!" He cackled, closing his eyes and raising his arms in the process.

That couldn't be him. He wasn't a demon. He was Rin! Cursed with Satan as his father, but he wasn't like that; he wasn't evil...

"I can't let you do that!" Rin challenged. "I can't let you hurt my friends!"

He laughed harder. "Y—your friends?" He let out in between guffaws.

"Are you talking about them?" The other Rin waved his flaming hand. A chunk of darkness dissipated into a translucent screen. Images of his exwire classmates flew through the screen. Their expressions screamed of bewilderment, fear, and... distaste. "THOSE ARE NOT YOUR FRIENDS! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT? THEY HATE YOU!"

Rin cringed, sure it looked like that, but, "They're just confused; if I just explain—"

"What is there to explain, Rin? They hate Satan's flames, they hate your flames. They hate you."

"They don't..." Rin faltered. Just then, an image of Suguro turning his nose at him passed through the screen. His face fell.

"Can you confidently tell me that he'll accept you? Can you?" Dared the demon.

Silence. How would victims of the Blue Night ever accept him for who he was? He was Satan's spawn! The blood of that ungodly being flowed through his veins; he wasn't human, and they'd never acknowledge him as such.

"Can you?"

They hate him, but could he blame them? He was a monster, an atrocity that shouldn't exist; perhaps Yukio was right. It'd be easier if he just died.

"Can you?"

He cupped his ears to block himself. _Can I? No! No, I can't!_

From the outside, Rin's internal dilemma was evident as the demon fell to his knees, holding his head between his wrists and screaming from the top of his lungs.

"H—HELP! H—HELP ME!"

"Oh, he's unstable." Amaimon yawned. "So predictable."

"What's happening now?" Shura asked the green-haired demon.

"Huh?" He lifted his head to face her but instead he was met with a full view of under her breasts. "He's probably battling himself, you know? The whole 'I wanna be human, no I wanna be a demon' shebang. I don't really care."

"What does that even mean?" Kamiki chimed in.

"It means that Ani is trying to come back to himself."

"AGHHHH!" Rin yelled, pressing his arms further into his head. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

Had he not been a satanic demon who'd just murdered the Paladin in cold blood, probably the exwires would've felt sorry for him. Instead, the ones who couldn't stomach it averted their gaze.

Eventually, Rin's laments ceased. Hunched over himself, he heaved for air. His right hand pressed against his chest, feeling his inner heartbeat. It took him a couple of beats to steady himself, however, once that was over, he smiled. "Sorry about that! There was just a minor internal hiccup."

That smile was not Rin's.

"So you've chosen?" Mephisto glowered at the teen.

"I guess I have. I've chosen to be my true self. I've chosen to be free and give in to my desire to destroy; destroy everything!" Rin chortled, the laugh wasn't any prettier than it previously had been, and the brazen joy at his declaration of destruction didn't make it any better. "I wanna see the world burn. I want to see my blue flames reduce this purgatory into rubble under my feet!"

His lips were stretched so wide that his teeth might as well have fallen out, "And you know the best part, Samael? You. Can't. Stop. Me. None of you can!"

With that final testament, Rin exited the scene at a speed worthy of a demon, leaving a trail of ocean fire in his wake.

"Isn't anyone going to go after him?" Suguro looked over to Lord Pheles.

"The Order will be on his tail soon enough... We have other matters to attend to." Mephisto told the exwire as he dispelled the barrier.

For the first time since the previous night, the exwires felt like they could breathe. It all had been too much; the camping, Amaimon's attack, Rin's flames, the Paladin's death... They felt like they'd aged at least a decade. But now it was over— at least for now.

**Author's Note:**

> For this story, I wanted to explore what would happen if the sword actually cracked (like in the anime) and broke to release demon Rin; since he truly wasn't confident in his own self until the end of the Kyoto arc, he most likely wouldn't have been able to overcome the demon with his willpower.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


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